Claire Dassy, Deputy Head of the Surface Projects Department

My job: Deputy Head of the Surface Projects Department

My job is to create new tram lines so that people can travel more easily over short and medium distances, but also bus lines with a high level of service (buses that run on tracks not mixed with cars).

An urban approach to projects

In my department, we carry out projects over the long term: from their imagination to their commissioning with passengers... This means anticipating how the need for transport will change in 15 years' time: this is the average time it takes to implement a tram line.

To create these new tram lines, we are relying on the strategic development perspectives expressed in the Master Plan of the Île-de-France Region (SDRIF), on the recommendations of the PDUIF (Urban Travel Plan for the Île-de-France). Before starting the work, we carry out solid studies during which we collaborate with engineers, urban architects, operating specialists, etc.

We carry out our transport projects from "façade to façade", which means that they are part of a global approach to the requalification of public space, with, for example, the creation of cycle paths, widened sidewalks, the resumption of roads, etc. Therefore, we work closely with the communities (cities, inter-municipalities) crossed by our projects.

Skills and qualities

The 4 key skills to succeed in my job

1. Knowing how to orchestrate teamwork... with a real sense of diplomacy: between the internal skills outside our management (contract department, communication, bus reorganisation, etc.), external expertise (local authority technicians, project management, specialised companies leading the sites) and the funders to whom we are accountable (State, the Region, Departments, etc.).
2. To understand long-term land use planning projects, in their urban, social and political dimensions. Have knowledge of all public policies. To be able to change focus (from detail (street furniture) to overall (redesign of travel on the scale of a living area). Understand the territory as a whole.
3. Be a generalist: learn in a summary way, and often on the job, in many fields, understand what other trades do to best play the role of conductor.
4. Knowing how to adapt in order to understand the role of each player, the culture of each player, and learning how the balance works outside Île-de-France Mobilités, particularly among operators.

The qualities that serve me on a daily basis

• Humility, to be able to last: knowing how to admit that you don't know everything, daring to talk about it
• Enthusiasm
• Empathy, we must be able to understand what people are going through to manage expropriations or to make people understand how this construction site, which impacts their daily lives, will enhance their neighborhood in the future.
• Tenacity

What is my daily life at work?

No two days are the same!

Elements of projects are presented to elected officials and the population - studies, projects, progress of work, even educational actions with children (workshops with schools, colleges, etc.).

We also carry out a lot of work on the financial monitoring of contracts, and on the monitoring of legal and safety procedures (in the study, work and testing phases) as well as, for example, the examination of files by the amicable settlement commission to make life easier for traders during the works.

We also take care of communication around projects, study phases and throughout the construction sites.

My training

I studied urban planning and architecture.

Why I love my job

I like my job because it is part of spatial planning - mobility is an important dimension of spatial planning. And precisely, this is one of my areas of training and interest.

And then building public transport projects is really useful for sustainable development, in particular and in territories where mobility is the beginning of a form of equality and freedom (for access to culture, to facilities, to simply get around).

Finally, I like my work because I believe in the importance and usefulness of public services, in the importance and usefulness of a real transport policy to open up territories and improve life in these neighbourhoods.

My work makes sense.